


By Osmosis

by custardpringle



Category: Fringe
Genre: Gen, Kidnapping, Parallel Universes, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-20
Updated: 2009-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-04 18:44:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/custardpringle/pseuds/custardpringle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He can't wake up from this and he doesn't know what else to do, but his dad knows everything, so Petey figures if he follows him things will be okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Osmosis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zippit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zippit/gifts).



> Betaed by astraev-- thanks so much!

Petey is dreaming that he's woken up. That happens to him sometimes. His mom says it's weird but it happens to everyone; his dad says people's brains like to play tricks on them, and has been trying to teach Petey how to tell the difference and control his dreams. He has some fancy science name for it, but Petey can never remember what it is. It doesn't really matter, though, because Petey isn't very good at it yet. His dad says he will be, though. He says Petey is a very smart boy, one of the smartest there ever was, but Petey doesn't _feel_ that smart so he just figures it's the same thing everyone's parents tell them.

Tonight it's easy to tell the difference, though, because Petey is dreaming that he wakes up and his dad is standing in his bedroom door crying. Petey's dad _never_ cries, so this has to be a dream; Petey bets he doesn't even have tear ducts. He doesn't laugh much either, and when he does it's because he solved a problem instead of because something's funny. Petey never really thought about it before, but that's kind of weird too.

"Peter." His dad's voice sounds funny, like he's been crying for a while. "Are you awake?"

"No," Petey says, because he isn't. This must be his dad testing him somehow, and he feels bad that he can't be as good at this as his dad wants him to. "I'm trying to, like you told me, but I can't." He really really wants to wake up, too, not just to impress his dad but because the sound of his dad crying is actually kind of scary and Petey wants to get away from it.

His dad coughs wetly. Petey can't see much of him besides a shadow in the doorway. "That's all right, son. Don't worry about it. But something has happened, do you understand? It is imperative that you put your shoes on and come with me right away."

Petey scrambles out of bed. He doesn't know what _imperative_ is, but he knows what his dad sounds like when he really means something, and he just got an idea about what might be happening. "Mom?" He shoves his feet into his sneakers, knowing exactly where they are even in the dark. "Did something happen to Mom? Is she okay?"

"Good Lord, Peter, of course she's okay." His dad pats his shoulder heavily. He isn't crying any more, but now they're going into the hallway where there's light and Petey can see his eyes are all red and puffy. "But let's be quiet, all right? We wouldn't want to wake her."

"But what's _happening_?" Petey tiptoes obediently after him, down the hallway. He can't wake up from this and he doesn't know what else to do, but his dad knows everything, so Petey figures if he follows him things will be okay. "Dad?" he insists, when he doesn't get an answer right away. "Dad, you're _scaring_ me."

His dad stops at the top of the stairs and crouches down to look Petey in the eye. "Nothing is wrong, Peter." He's smiling; Petey is at least smart enough to know when people who smile are faking it, but it's nice of his dad to try. "I'm working on a very important experiment, son, and I need your help to finish it. It has to be you, do you understand? No one else can help."

"Really? Me?" Petey puffs up with pride, forgetting how scared he is for a minute.

"Really, you." His dad's smile is totally real this time. "Come on, we're going to my lab."

Petey's dad's lab is the coolest place on the planet, and they're going in the middle of the night to do a secret super important experiment, and Petey's the only one who can help with it. Maybe this isn't such a bad dream after all.

\-------

Cambridge is very quiet this late at night. Petey doesn't know exactly what time it is, but it sort of makes things cooler. It feels like he and his dad are being sneaky. Like spies. He asked once if his dad was a spy because he works with the government so much, and his dad said he wasn't, but Petey isn't sure he believes that. Even if his dad was a spy he'd have to say he wasn't. Petey knows that because his babysitter lets him watch James Bond movies.

"Stand here, Peter." His dad indicates a piece of tape on the floor in the middle of the lab, and Petey stands there, a little reminded of the class play he was in last month. His dad is being all clipped and distracted now, and Petey used to think that meant he was in trouble, but it usually just means science is more interesting than Petey is right now. If Petey got to do stuff as cool as his dad does, he would probably get distracted a lot too. And since tonight he gets to help, he stands very still to be as helpful as possible and waits to be told what to do next while his dad runs around flipping switches.

There are machines starting to light up and glow now, making all kinds of weird noises, and Petey looks around at them nervously. "What are those?"

"I'll tell you when we're finished. This is so important, we don't want to jinx it, do we?" His dad smiles at him again, coming to stand next to him on the little tape mark. He's got a bottle of suntan lotion and some pills in his hand, and he offers them both to Petey. "You'll want to use these."

Petey gulps down the pills right away-- his dad taught him to take pills without water when he was three-- but he doesn't understand the lotion. "It's the middle of the night."

"It's going to get very bright in here," his dad says. "I want you to be absolutely safe, Peter."

"All right," Petey says doubtfully, and rubs it into his hands and face. He feels kind of silly, standing in the basement wearing pajamas and sneakers and suntan lotion.

When he's finished, his dad nods approvingly and reaches down to hold Petey's hand. "I love you," he says gravely, and Petey feels another twinge of wrongness-- because his dad never _says_ that, not out loud. But then the lights flare up crazily bright, so bright it hurts, and he's being torn apart and his dad isn't holding his hand any more and it hurts so _badly_\--

\-------

Petey wakes up again, for real this time. He thinks it's for real, anyway. It's morning, and sunny out, and he's back in bed. He feels sort of sick to his stomach, but that's probably just because he had such a horrible dream; he's already forgetting most of it, but he remembers it was scary. Scary enough that for a few minutes he just curls into a little ball around his teddy bear until he wakes up more, even though Petey doesn't remember bringing his teddy bear to bed last night. He's sure last night he decided on Mr. Octopus, but maybe he's confused because of the bad dream.

It's Saturday morning, which is good, except that his parents are arguing downstairs. Petey kind of wants to stay in bed, since he's not feeling well, but he decides to be brave instead and get dressed to see what they're doing downstairs. He notices, when he gets out of bed, that his room is cleaner and his space shuttle poster is gone, replaced by the _Star Wars_ poster he's been asking for forever. His mom must've snuck in to surprise him while he was asleep. And there are trees outside, real live trees, like there haven't been in ages and ages since the old ones all got sick and died. His parents have been talking forever about getting new ones planted, because his dad and Uncle Billy think they know a way to breed plants that won't catch the blight, but Petey didn't think they'd be so _big_.

He wants to tell his mom how happy he is, about the cleaning and the poster and the trees, but she's still arguing with his dad when he gets downstairs, and Petey sits down on the stairs to listen and try and find out what it's about. "He's _fine_," his dad is saying, trying to calm his mom down. "Don't you see? I brought him back, our _son_. He's just fine. You should be _happy_."

"It's not right." Petey's mom sounds more upset than he's ever heard her before. "You shouldn't have done it, Walter. I miss him too, but it's not natural, okay? It's not _right_. I think-- I think you should put him back."

"I _can't_, my dear." His dad doesn't sound angry, just like his feelings are hurt. "After all the work I went to to do this? I _won't_ put him back. Not now."

"Well, if it's your _pride_ at stake. What about the others?" his mom demands. "What about those other two who just lost their son?"

"Mom?" Petey wanted to be all sneaky and listen in for a while, so he can find out what they're talking about, but he doesn't like hearing her that unhappy, so he goes down into the living room to see her. "Are you okay?"

"Petey!" She turns on her heel to stare at him, face pale and eyes red. She looks like she's been crying. She looks _scared._

"It's quite all right," Petey's dad says quietly. Petey doesn't know which of them he's talking to. "I promise you, everything's going to be all right now."

Petey fidgets from one foot to the other. "What's going on?" He gets that they're talking about him, but none of it seems to make any sense.

"Nothing." His mom shrugs. Petey doesn't believe her at _all_, but he doesn't think she's going to tell him the truth either. Being seven stinks like that. At least his dad tells him things. "Just-- oh God, just come here."

He crosses the room and his mom scoops him up and hugs him, extra tight. Petey thinks he's a bit too old to be picked right up off the ground like this, but since his mom is unhappy he doesn't complain, just hugs her back. "Are you really okay?"

"No." His mom frowns, sets him back on his feet, and glances back over her shoulder at his dad. "But I think maybe I could be." She doesn't sound very sure.

"Breakfast!" his dad suggests, loud and sudden. "We should make a nice breakfast! To celebrate."

"Okay, right. Sure." Petey's mom runs her fingers through her hair and tries to smile. "A nice big breakfast for you, Petey, okay? Waffles and bacon and scrambled eggs, just like you like them."

Petey pulls a face. Scrambled eggs? "I do _not_," he complains. "I like them sunny-side-up. Scrambled ones are all mushy."

"Right, sunny-side-up. That's what I meant." His mom laughs a bit. "Good thing I've got you here to correct me."

Petey doesn't feel right about it, all the same. What's the use of having a mom if she can't even remember how you like your eggs?


End file.
